Here’s another 2-CD set that I bought at a thrift store for a dollar. And, as usual with these compilation CDs, the result is a mixed bag. Name performers like Luther Vandross and Meatloaf rub up against The Cover Girls and Will to Power (remember them?). I’m glad I finally have “All 4 Love” (a contemporary do-wop number) by Color Me Badd. What do you remember the music of the 1990s? Do you see any of your favorites included on these discs? GRADE: B
TRACK LIST:
DISC ONE:
1-1 –Will To Power I’m Not In Love 3:48
1-2 –Meat Loaf I’d Do Aything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) 5:09
1-3 –Paul Young Oh Girl 3:34
1-4 –Heavy D. & The Boyz Now That We Found Love 4:16
1-5 –Heart All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You 5:08
1-6 –Martika Love… Thy Will Be Done 4:20
1-7 –Firehouse (2) love Of A Lifetime 4:46
1-8 –P.M. Dawn I’d Die Without You 4:11
1-9 –Boy Krazy That’s What Love Can Do 3:21
1-10 –Babyface When Can I See You 3:50
1-11 –Warrant I Saw Red 3:46
1-12 –The Escape Club I’ll Be There 5:47
1-13 –Luther Vandross Here And Now 5:23
1-14 –The Cover Girls We Can’t Go Wrong 4:28
1-15 –George LaMond Baby, I Believe In You 3:55
1-16 –Saigon Kick Love Is On The Way 4:25
1-17 –Shai (3) If I Ever Fall In Love 3:08
1-18 –Jimmy Cliff I Can See Clearly Now 3:15
DISC TWO:
2-1 –Taylor Dayne With Every Beat Of My Heart 4:22
2-2 –K.W.S. Please Don’t Go 4:18
2-3 –Exposé I’ll Never Get Over You 3:48
2-4 –Londonbeat I’ve Been Thinking About You 3:49
2-5 –Tara Kemp Piece Of My Heart 4:29
2-6 –Hi-Five I Can’t Wait Another Minute 4:59
2-7 –Linear Sending All My Love 3:51
2-8 –Cathy Dennis C’Mon And Get My Love 3:50
2-9 –Trey Lorenz Someone To Hold 4:21
2-10 –Color Me Badd All 4 Love 3:30
2-11 –New Kids On The Block Tonight 3:27
2-12 –Regina Belle Make It Like It Was 4:15
2-13 –Surface The First Time 4:15
2-14 –Tony Terry With You 5:05
2-15 –Peabo Bryson Can You Stop The Rain 5:03
2-16 –Timmy T One More Try 3:15
2-17 –Dan Baird I Love You Period 4:24
2-18 –Bad English When I See You Smile 4:18

Daniel Kraus, the co-author of The Shape of Water with Guillermo del Toro, presents a Halloween story featuring a disturbed youngster planning on planting razor blades and poison in trick-or-treat candy in order to punish the community that has turned him into an outcast. Much of this revenge story is narrated by a street-wise kid named Jody. Jody innocently relates horrific details of the life poor kids are forced to endure. At its core, Blood Sugar weaves tales of survival and panic and humor into a novel with the impact of a punch in the mouth. I’m a big fan of Paul Mann’s classic cover! GRADE: B+

Imagine a play where five women and seven men discuss marriage for a couple of hours. Sounds dull, right? Well, if you’re George Bernard Shaw, you turn the subject of marriage and divorce into comedy gold. And, this play first opened in 1908! The reasons to get married, to stay married, and when to leave a marriage haven’t changed much in a century. Of course, British law at that time harshly stripped women of most of their rights (including financial) when they entered into a marriage and provided many impediments to leaving a dysfunctional relationship. British law became more fair in 1969, but women still struggle for equal rights with men just as American women do.

I enjoyed the spirited (and funny) debates among the characters. My favorite is Lesbia Grantham who turns down many marriage proposals from General Bridgenorth because she refuses to give up her rights and freedom to a marriage. “Home life as we understand it is no more natural to us than a cage is natural to a cockatoo.” The “cage” of course is marriage. The sold-out crowd at The Shaw Festival laughed at the one-liners and the slapstick comedic antics of the characters. But, beneath the humor, Shaw exposes the flaws of all long-term relationships. Brilliant! Do you have a favorite Shaw play? GRADE: A

Diane and I listened to Amy Grant’s music back in the 1980s and enjoyed it. Diane still plays an Amy Grant Christmas CD during the Holidays. This Amy Grant concert took place 5 minutes from our house at the historic Rivera Theatre (1,100 seats) in downtown North Tonawanda. The concert sold out with mostly an aging audience. As most of you probably know, Amy Grant also released some Contemporary Christian CDs. She sang some religious songs and many in the audience chimed in. Amy Grant sang the songs we like most from her CDs: “Lucky One,” “That’s What Love Is For,” “Baby Baby,” “Every Heartbeat,” and “I Will Remember You.” All in all, a pleasant concert in friendly surroundings. We drove home in 5 minutes after the concert ended. That doesn’t happen very often. Are you an Amy Grant fan? GRADE: A
SET LIST:
Anywhere With Jesus
Curious Thing
Takes a Little Time
Lucky One
Stay for Awhile
Saved by Love
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell cover)
Find a Way
Oh How the Years Go By (Simon Climie cover)
That’s What Love Is For
I Will Be Your Friend
Father’s Eyes
Better Than a Hallelujah
Thy Word
El-Shaddai
Sing Your Praise to the Lord (Rich Mullins cover)
Baby Baby
Every Heartbeat
Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Jackie DeShannon cover)
I Will Remember You

The well-rested 4-1 Buffalo Bills are 17-point favorites over the hapless 0-5 Miami Dolphins. The BYE WEEK refreshed the Bills and helped some of players with nagging injuries. Former Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been named the starter for today but we may see Josh Rosen before the day is done. How will your favorite NFL team perform today?

Santino Fontana plays the irascible struggling actor, Michael Dorsey. Dorsey can’t resist telling directors and script writers how to do their jobs. This arrogant behavior causes Dorsey’s acting career to self-destruct. In desperation, Dorsey transforms himself into “Dorothy Michaels” and gets a role in a Broadway play, Juliet’s Nurse. Dorothy becomes the friend and confidant of Julie Nichols, the actress currently starring as Juliet in Juliet’s Nurse. But even as Dorothy, Michael Dorsey’s volatility and meddling tendencies cause problems in his love life and his role in Juliet’s Nurse.

This reboot of the 1982 comic movie adds some clever music and silly situations. I saw Tootsie: The Musical at the Marquis Theatre at the Mariott Marquis Hotel where I was staying. The musical was sold out and the audience loved all the wacky scenes on the stage. I’m sure there will be a touring company performing Tootsie: The Musical in a year or so.

As far as I’m concerned, Santino Fontana carries this play with his talent as both difficult Michael Dorsey and demur “Dorothy Michaels.” I also enjoyed Jeff Slater as Michael’s roommate, Jeff, an unsuccessful playwright with a snarky sense of humor. If you’re in the mood for a fun musical, I recommend Tootsie: The Musical. Are you a fan of the original Tootsie? GRADE: A-
Musical numbers:
Act I
Overture – Orchestra
“Opening Number” – Ensemble, Michael
“Whaddya Do” – Michael
“What’s Gonna Happen” – Sandy
“Whaddya Do” (Reprise) – Michael
“I Won’t Let You Down” – Dorothy
“I’m Alive” – Julie, Ron, Max, Dorothy, Ensemble
“There Was John” – Julie, Dorothy
“I Like What She’s Doing” – Rita, Julie, Stuart, Suzie, Ron, Max, Dorothy, Ensemble
“Who Are You?” – Michael, Julie
“What’s Gonna Happen” (Reprise) – Sandy
“Unstoppable” – Michael/Dorothy
Act II
Entr’acte – Orchestra
“Jeff Sums It Up” – Jeff, Michael
“Gone, Gone, Gone” – Julie, Female Trio
“Who Are You?” (Reprise) – Julie
“This Thing” – Max
“Whaddya Do” (Reprise) – Jeff, Michael
“The Most Important Night of My Life” – Max, Suzie, Stuart, Rita, Ron, Ensemble
“Talk to Me Dorothy” – Michael
“Arrivederci!” – Dorothy, Julie, Max, Ensemble
“What’s Gonna Happen” (Reprise) – Sandy
“Thank You” (“Talk to Me Dorothy” Reprise) – Michael

I dimly remember seeing the movie version of Brigadoon (1954) as a kid. So when The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada announced a musical version, I was intrigued. The story of two young American men getting lost in the Highlands of Scotland and stumbling upon the mystical town of Brigadoon retains the charm of the original. Tommy Albright is scheduled to be married after this bachelor trip and his best man, Jeff Douglas, intends to get Tommy back to New York City on time. But the magic of Brigadoon affects both men. Tommy falls in love with Fiona and Jeff has a fling with a hot redhead called Meg. But Brigadoon has its secrets and darkness.

Diane and I enjoyed all the singing and dancing in Brigadoon. Yes, the plot creaks like a production from 1947 (Brigadoon ran for 581 performances at the Ziegfeld Theatre with Broadway revivals in 1950, 1957, 1963, and 1980). But the fun and flair of the characters mixed with Alan Jay Lerner’s lyrics and Frederick Loewe’s melodies create a vibrant experience. GRADE: A

Lawrence Block’s Resume Speed was published by Subterranean Press back in 2016 but I only got around to reading it now. A man who calls himself “William Thompson” gets on a bus in  Galbraith, North Dakota and heads for Spokane, Washington. But when his bus stops in Cross Creek, Montana Thompson notices a HELP WANTED sign outside a diner. Thompson applies for the job and gets it. Lawrence Block carefully records Thompson’s steps in settling in to the community. Thompson gets a library card and ends up sleeping with the librarian. After a few months, Thompson has enough money to buy a used car. Life is good. But…Thompson’s past is always close behind which is why Thompson has to guzzle whiskey each night to chase his demons away. If you’re in the mood for a stark tale of naturalism, give Resume Speed a try. Are you a fan of Lawrence Block’s work? GRADE: B

When Diane and I visited Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada last week, I stopped into a Starbucks and what I saw shocked me! I’m a fan of the Starbucks Blonde coffees–Veranda, Blonde Espresso, Bright Sky blend, and Blonde Roast Plus–but this Canadian Starbucks offered a Starbucks Blonde coffee I didn’t know existed: Starbucks True North Blonde!

I immediately ordered a cup. Yum! Subtle flavors with delicate nuances of soft cocoa and lightly toasted nuts danced on my tongue. This is just the thing to make your day brighter! According to Starbucks advertising: “Roasting this blend of specially chosen Latin American beans for a shorter time allows the delicate nuances of soft cocoa and lightly toasted nuts to blossom. As enticing as the natural beauty of majestic Canada, this blend is dedicated to a country that’s been part of the Starbucks story since 1987. Mellow and easy-drinking.” I agree! Now I’ll have to make more trips to Canada! Do you have a favorite coffee? GRADE: A